A rail company is to renew its bid to get extra services between Bradford and London following a Government decision to strip GNER of its franchise after its parent company filed for bankruptcy.

The Department for Transport said it was now inviting expressions of interest to operate the East Coast Mainline route.

As well as providing mainline trains between London and Scotland, GNER also runs a twice-daily service from Bradford to London and one train a day between Skipton and Harrogate to the capital.

A new franchisee is expected to be in place in 12 to 18 months' time and until then GNER will operate the franchise on behalf of the Department of Transport under a no-fee management agreement deal.

GNER's parent company Bermuda-based Sea Containers has filed for bankruptcy protection in the US and its financial problems were worsened by the fact that under the terms of its franchise, GNER had to pay back £1.3 billion to the Treasury over ten years. GNER has also faced competition on the mainline route after rail regulators allowed the York-based Grand Central company to start services between Sunderland and London.

Grand Central has also drawn up a "wish list" for future services, which would include a 140mph link between Bradford and London and an hourly stopper' service between Bradford and Doncaster.

As part of the management contract, GNER is looking to increase the frequency of trains from Leeds to London.

But Grand Central managing director Ian Yeowart said: "We can see the sense in the Leeds idea, but why should Leeds get this while Bradford gets nothing? "We will resubmit with Network Rail to formally request Bradford paths from December next year."

GNER chairman Bob Mackenzie blamed the July 2005 bombings, the hike in electricity prices and regulatory approval for Grand Central to run some East Coast mainline services for the company's problems.

Transport Secretary Douglas Alexander said: "The Government made it clear that rail operators that fall into financial difficulty should expect to surrender the franchise and not receive financial support.

"This agreement protects the interests of both passengers and taxpayers. It will ensure services operate as normal until a private sector franchise operator can be put in place."

Tim Calow, chairman of the Aire Valley Rail Users Group, said: "We are hopeful that it will be business as usual for the next 15 months during the management contract, but what happens after that is anyone's guess and depends on the way people bid."

The Telegraph & Argus GNER travel offer is unaffected by the franchise announcement. Collect today's token on Page 13.

e-mail: will.kilner@bradford.newsquest.co.uk